Donna & Larry Johnson's (elbow3140) Blog

      Home owners' insurance premiums have been on the rise lately with many home owners seeing a rise in average annual premiums. Here are some tips to help lower the cost:Shop around. If your rates rose last year, make sure to call the company for an explanation. Knowing whether the increase re...

Hope Springs Eternal         This quote from Alexander Pope could be the best description of how we face the task of rebuilding our economy after the devastation of the financial crisis and recession of four years ago. It seems like we have been taking baby steps climbing out of a giant crater. W...

Be Clear on who is on the Mortgage Note and who is on Title You probably know, as part of the lender initiating the Short Sale process, they will require the homeowner, and the listing agent, to submit what I call a Short Sale Package, which is simply a compilation of documentation substantiating...

Short Sales Out Pace Foreclosures       Short sales of U.S. homes rose to a three-year high in the first quarter as banks agreed to let more bor rower s unload property at a loss, putting the transactions on pace to surpass deals for foreclosures, RealtyTrac Inc. said. Sales of homes in the pre-f...

Owning Cheaper - Even in NYC?      With rising rents, more renters are being swayed into home ownership, even in pricey housing markets like New York. For example, one New York renter said he started looking into owning a home when his landlord tried to increase his rent by 13 percent when his le...

In a Word: Uncertainty        During these challenging financial times we have focused upon a very positive word that we feel is the key to a stronger economy recovery. That word is confidence. This month we would like to focus upon another important word which is a negative influence -- uncertai...

It May Not Get Better Than This Buying a home may never get any cheaper than this. Several housing experts are predicting that this year will be the last chance for bargain hunters to cash in on the best deals of the weak housing market. With home prices down 34% nationally since 2006 and home lo...

Could We Run Out of Houses?       In the face of most observations by  analysts, this seems a somewhat  ridiculous prediction. Not only has  the real estate market been weighed  down by foreclosures for the past five  years, there is a tremendous amount of  shadow inventory which is either alread...

Spring Market Optimism     The spring season usually brings an increase in buying and selling to the real estate market, and housing experts are mostly optimistic that this spring will be even better than recent years. Some signs are already there: Housing inventories are declining, housing affor...

Agency Eases Refi Guides  Freddie Mac has eased its underwriting formulas to boost the number of homeowners who qualify for the government's home loan refinancing program. Changes made last year to the government-backed refinancing program and fully implemented in mid-March were designed to make ...